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Raise Your Visibility and Value

The professional landscape is changing. Advances in social media, endless bottom-line financial pressures, and changing demographics are significantly impacting our experience in the workplace. Individuals who take back responsibility of their career management and identify and secure their next opportunity – internally – can successfully traverse this new professional landscape. When the inevitable merger, acquisition, downsizing or rightsizing occurs, you are better positioned to land successfully inside versus finding yourself unexpectedly landing on the sidewalk outside.

Here are some key ways to raise your visibility and value:

Identify your network – Make a list of individuals within your organization whom you should know:

What are the growth areas within the organization?

What areas of your company do the organization’s strategic plans support?

Who are key players in your organization that you have not met?

Which key players know your name, but know little else about you?

The answers to these questions represent opportunities to identify individuals with whom you want to raise your visibility.

Create your process – Raising your visibility requires a well thought-out process reflecting how you plan to move forward. While your process does not need to be complicated, you should consider the following:

Transparency – To effectively raise your visibility internally, transparency is important. Think about how you will involve your boss and keep your boss updated as you progress. Have a conversation with your boss to ensure he/she understands that your goal is not to leave your job, but to be better prepared for a new role should the need arise.

Time – Raising your visibility takes time and you probably already have a busy schedule. Think about how you will parse out time to raise your visibility while minimizing conflict with your current activities, projects, and deliverables.

Topics – If you are going to take time out of your schedule as well as ask others to take time out of their schedule, ensure you are clear on the goal of the conversation and how your network can best assist you.

Build you visibility, influence, and value – An outcome to your conversations are ways for you to build your visibility, influence, and value in the organization. You might consider taking the lead on a key project. You could join a cross-functional team where you demonstrate your skills to individuals outside of your function or client base. One of your internal connections may have a need with which you could offer to assist. Whatever the outcome, your goal is to raise your visibility, influence, and value outside of your functional team. Take steps now to own your career development and raise your visibility with your current employer.

Ed Evarts is a Leadership Coach at Evarts Coaching. With over twenty-five years of leadership and management experience, Ed works with mid- to senior-level professionals and their teams to create success. He can be reached at ed@evartscoaching.com or visit Evarts Coaching at www.evartscoaching.com.